1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a profile generation device, and more particularly to a profile generation device for generating a profile of an output device such as a printing machine, a printer or a monitor which outputs an image.
2. Description of the Background Art
When performing a simulation on a print by a printer or the like, color space information (a profile) is required for performing a color management on the print and a simulation device (e.g., a printer, CRT, or the like), respectively. A typical method for generating a profile is to use a color chart (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 12-050090 for example). According to this method, the color chart is prepared in advance of generating a profile. For example, in a case of a print whose data is provided by a CMYK system, the color chart is generated by dividing a reproducible color space as a grid, and selecting color coordinates on grid points as color patches, wherein each color patch is associated with a combination of CMYK components. Then approximately 100 to 1000 such color patches are arranged to generate the color chart. This kind of color chart is printed or outputted from a printer and a color measurement is performed on each color patch by using a colorimeter or the like. Thus, a comparison table of values obtained by the color measurement performed on each color patch, and CMYK values of each color patch are obtained. By using an interpolation technique, a profile is obtained from the comparison table. Note that a profile for a RGB system may also be generated by employing substantially the same method.
According to a conventional method, a color measurement is performed on a color chart which is prepared separately from an image to be outputted. In other words, contents of the image to be outputted and contents of an image subjected to the color measurement (a color chart) are not consistent with each other. There is a possibility that an output condition of an output device (i.e., a factor that influences the output from the output device) may change according to the contents of the image to be outputted. Since in the conventional method, the color chart is used, which is an outputted material having contents different from the image to be outputted, the output condition may change. Especially, when the output device is a printing machine, there is high possibility that the output condition changes in accordance with the contents of the image to be outputted. If the output condition changes, a color matching accuracy may deteriorate, since an accurate profile cannot be generated even if the profile is generated based on a result of the color measurement performed on the color chart.